Bruce had always had massive success with his album; however, it was this magnum opus that truly made him a household name given how many hits it spawned on Billboard back in the day. Unfortunately, none of his other albums achieved this level of success throughout his career, although given how iconic this remains in the realms of heartland rock, I doubt even he minds much.
Many Madonna fans will tell you that this is her sell-out album, considering her debut had the budget of a ham sandwich and only became a hit in Australia due to heavy promotion on Countdown, I can understand why Madonna would appeal to the masses with this album if it meant an entire career of making the music she felt passionate about. Even so there’s still plenty of merit to this album even if it isn’t as ambitious as some of her other efforts.
This was the album that made INXS a household name in Australia, although admittedly they wouldn’t start seeing major international success until their next album but in the meantime, there was definitely a lot of international interest in the band as the band expanded their appeal outside of their fellow Aussies. It definitely helped them become the biggest Australian band of the decade worldwide.
Well, this is an album whose story is so laboured with drama that Tina’s official biopic starring Angela Bassett was named after the signature track from the album. There’s nothing I can add to the conversation about how this album came to be except that “What’s love got to do with it” wasn’t the lead single from the album. Instead, it was a cover of an Al Green track that was produced by the members of Heaven 17.
To think this had such a long rise to the peak of its success in most parts of the world, despite it spawning several hit singles, it wasn’t until Cyndi embarked on her world tour that this became a best seller for her much like how Celine Dion’s breakthrough album the Colour of my love did just that a decade later. As for the album itself, it’s no wonder it’s remained a classic given how iconic the songs remain to this day.
Although U2 achieved moderate success prior to the release of this live album captured at their concert at Red rocks Las Vegas, it was this live album that made them a household name in the mainstream due to how raw and energetic the band was during this show. This led to them gaining more and more popularity as the decade went on, which peaked with their Joshua tree album winning them a Grammy.
Also known as the First album, this was indeed where it all began for Madonna given how she was at the time an indie artist who had a great voice and some meaningful things to say in her song writing. This was a huge sleeper hit for her this year albeit only in Australia as the rest of the world ignored her in favour of Cyndi Lauper, although she would eventually win the battle of top female pop star with her next album.
This was Julio’s first album he recorded mostly in English, so of course it was going to find an audience with fans of his Latin lover shtick which would be otherwise turned off from his music due to their inability to understand Spanish. To further incentivise people into checking out this album, he included two very well-known American musicians on here and released both tracks as singles.
This is a bit of an outlier for Midnight oil’s discography as they made the strange decision to not release any singles from this album, I’m guessing to ensure that it would be a success without any hindrance from audiences wanting to buy the singles instead. If you couldn’t tell from the cover art, their topic of the day was environmentalism which even back then was of major concern in the mainstream media.
There weren’t any signs of these guys slowing down as their fourth album managed to be a huge success for them worldwide, although I would’ve thought this would be even bigger here in Australia given how synonymous they’ve become with the second British invasion worldwide. I guess this albums success was more due to their artist momentum given how it didn’t spawn a huge hit for them here.
You’d think that this album from one of the most popular artists of the decade would’ve been even bigger here in Australia, granted this did spawn three of the biggest hits of the decade here but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a huge juggernaut like other pop albums of its time. In any case, this was the album which made the duo a household name over in America due to how catchy the songs are on here.
Well we did see the likes of Austen Tayshus and the 12th man on the singles chart, so it makes sense that this live comedy album from Rodney Rude would be a huge success on the album charts this year.
This was the debut album for one of the more prominent figures of sophistopop in the music industry Sade, a band led by their frontwoman Sade Adu who combined jazz with new wave for audiences of the day. This is another band I’m surprised didn’t have a hit single in Australia considering how well loved their songs remain on oldies stations, although the albums were a success so maybe that’s why their songs flopped here.
Footloose is a film I can easily see annoying people due to how nobody in the town realises the obvious delinquents were the ones causing all the problems in said town, although I feel this was more to make the film’s message about not oppressing an entire demographic based on the actions of a select few resonate with audiences. At least the music is really catchy, hence why the soundtrack did so well.
This is the magnum opus from Prince given how it also serves as the soundtrack to his autobiographical film of the same name, it also made him a household name in his native America as he hadn’t had much success on Billboard prior to this albums release despite finding huge success internationally with his earlier work. This albums legacy inspired him to release two more films, both of which were panned by critics.
Following the success of their live album from earlier on this list, U2 released their fourth album which was the first one to spawn a hit for them in most parts of the world with the lead single. As I said earlier, their popularity only continued to grow with each new album this decade until it culminated with their Grammy award winning fifth album which also remains their most commercially successful to date.
This album was a huge success for Elton John following the success of his comeback album the previous year, although after this he would enter another dry spell as he would suffer from a drug addiction which affected his creativity and eventually his vocals due to developing polyps that he needed to have removed. He came back bigger than ever once the decade ended, but it was a rocky road for him to get there.
He had tragically passed away three years prior from a toe cancer, but that didn’t mean the world was ready to say farewell to Bob Marley as he’s arguably had more success from beyond the grave than he did during his lifetime. Here we have his greatest hits package that has become one of the most successful albums of all time due to its refusal to die on the album charts, although it was a huge success upon its initial release so it’s not like this only saw success years after it came out.
This was originally released to deafening silence in Australia, likely because we Aussies had no idea who these guys were as their earlier material were massive flops down under. Fortunately, it was given a second wind when “Legs” became a surprise hit for them a year after the album came out which allowed the album to become a huge success here.
This was the most successful compilation album of the 80’s in Australia, it was beaten out by those Triple J albums in the 90’s (going by the AMR charts of course) but this was during the height of the popularity of seasonal compilations here in Australia. This overlooks the popular songs of spring of 1984 which allowed it to peak during the Christmas season of that year and well into this year.
She saw plenty of success earlier in the decade as one half of Yazoo, however this was the big solo break that Alison Moyet had in her career which succeeded thanks to her killer vocals and relatable lyrics. It was more of a hit in NZ and her native UK, however even us Aussies couldn’t deny her amazing voice on this album even if that love didn’t really extend to her second album.
This was a compilation album that collected the biggest hits in Australia during the winter of 1984, these albums were all the rage here back in the day and indeed were popular enough to get their own rankings once ARIA took over the charts later in the decade.
These guys were often described as a killer live act throughout their career, so it’s only inevitable that this live album of theirs would be a huge success for them given that it captures their best moments while on tour.
This took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia, in fact it was only due to the success for their earlier entry on this list that this became huge here in Australia despite it coming from a film that’s frequently described as one of the best live concerts to ever be theatrically released. The rest of the world didn’t have to make this soundtrack take such a circuitous route to finding success in the mainstream.
I guess these guys should’ve waited to release a greatest hits package after they released their final album, it’s a trend I’ve noticed going through the charts that these types of albums usually spell the end for a band with this being no exception for Australian crawl. Indeed, they released their final album this year where it was a huge failure for them.
It appears that Kenny Roger’s popularity was stronger than ever thanks to him having a highly successful album in the form of Eyes that see in the dark, as a result we have the third greatest hits package from him to be a huge success in Australia in under half a decade.
This was the big breakthrough that they Eurogliders had in their career after the mediocre reception of their debut album from two years prior, although their next album would be even bigger due to it spawning multiple hits for the Western Australian band. The album is best known for the vocal presence of lead singer Grace Knight who would have a solo album in 1990 that was a huge success.
I haven’t seen the Woman in red, and chances are I’m not going to like it based on what I’ve heard even if it has Gene Wilder and the woman from Weird science in it. The soundtrack was a success due to the lead single becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade worldwide, all of this before it took home the prize of best song at the academy awards the following year.
Now that they had international success from their previous album, Icehouse decided to experiment with their sound in an attempt to keep up with the trends of MTV. While this and their next album were a success for the band in Australia and NZ, they aren’t fondly remembered due to them moving away from the sound which made them iconic on their first two albums and especially their fifth album.
The autumn of 1984 was a hectic time in Australia if this album is anything to go by, we had a bunch of classic songs become hits during this period which is why this album was able to be such a huge success.
Much like Choose 1985 from earlier on this list, this was also a huge hit during the summer of 84/85 here in Australia due to it having a fine selection of the biggest hits of the spring of 1984 on its track listing.
This is another band I would’ve thought would’ve been more inescapable here in Australia back in the day, at least their second album proved to be a massive hit here thanks to the strength of its lead single on our charts. Something I noticed about these guys is that they have a fascination with doctors in their music, it likely explains their level of success as they were a legitimate new wave band but on the sillier side.
It had been six years since Dragon had released an album in their catalogue, this was because the band had briefly broken up so that lead singer Marc Hunter could pursue a solo career that was a complete failure for him. He reformed the band who released this album, which was a huge success for them, proving that the band were only special as a unit and also that they could age well into the 80’s.
One of the most popular films of the decade has to be Ghostbusters, this is mainly due to it being one of the few films to depict paranormal activity in a comedic way given how horror films seemed to dominate Hollywood throughout the 80’s. This could explain the success of the soundtrack, although I think it’s real success here in Australia came from its theme song being one of the biggest hits of the decade here.
You’d think this would be one of the biggest albums of the decade here in Australia given how well these guys managed to age into the MTV era, in fact the video for “Magic” actually took home the first best video award at their ceremonies which it did so at “Thriller’s” expense. Alas this was only a hit when the third single became a hit here, even then I think it was only due to its success in NZ.
This was the final album to be released from Cold Chisel before they decided to call it quits, likely due to behind-the-scenes drama which caused massive friction between the members. Even though this album was a huge success upon its initial release, it was quickly overshadowed by Jimmy Barnes solo album released later in the year which also was a huge success for him.
This was one of only two albums to be released from Frankie goes to Hollywood, the other was such a commercial flop for the band that they called it quits shortly after its release later in the decade. I’m guessing audiences were turned away from it due to how their label had arrogantly hyped up this album upon its initial release, true it was a success however they announced the fourth single as a chart topper in UK before it was even released.
While many will tell you (me included) that this album did lose the magic that their previous two albums had which fuelled their success, that didn’t stop it from being a success in its own right given how the songs nonetheless remained as catchy as ever as well as the band becoming even more political with their lyrics which perhaps is why some of the magic was lost in this release.
It looks like Barbra Streisand was able to find some success during the midpoint of the decade as this album did reasonably well upon its initial release here in Australia, it would explain why her greatest hits package from earlier in the decade managed to rechart the following year given that there was still room for her in the mainstream.
This was the solo debut album for Jimmy Barnes that he released less than six months after the success of his final album with Cold Chisel, it proved that he was the real driving force of the bands popularity here given how quickly he was able to find success on his own after leaving them. Technically this album was a success twice as his next release included slight alterations of this album as well as some new songs.
Autumn of this year was a hectic time in the music industry in Australia, as such this compilation album managed to be a huge success during our winter to showcase how many great tracks that made it big this year so far.
This was the final successful album that Mondo rock had in their career, it’s curious because they were gaining international buzz with their discography, but they ruined their popularity with their next album by changing their sound to accommodate for an international market. I guess in the meantime they were enjoying their biggest success in the form of the lead single which made this album’s success inevitable.
This was the only successful album to come from Van Halen with David Lee Roth on vocals, although they would score an even bigger album two years later when they replaced him with Sammy Hager. I’m guessing this was big due to arena rock beginning to have mainstream appeal around this time, yes it had been around since they guys first broke through, however it didn’t fit in with the other trends of the 70’s.
This was another successful album to be released during the autumn of this year that overlooks the popular summer jams of 83/84 in Australia, as such it was a huge success proving how good the label’s taste in music is that assembled this album.
There were some pretty strong choices to represent the biggest hits of our winter of this year, as such this compilation album was a huge success upon its initial release proving how lucrative these albums were.
Following the success of their surprise hit the previous year “Maggie,” Foster and Allen were able to score a hit with this album which is something you’d expect from Michael Crawford or Michael Bublé from the 90’s and 00’s respectively. Naturally this was the duo’s only success here as their brand of Celtic crooner music only had a limited shelf life in the mainstream here.
The Takeaways were a fictional band who had their own show around this time, the show culminated with the band appearing on Countdown where they performed their music in order to help them crossover to the real world. As corny as that setup is, I’m surprised it wasn’t more of a thing back in the day as even by this stage, people had come around for the Monkees and the Partridge family in the music industry.
This likely would’ve sunk on our charts here in Australia were it not for the surprise success of its lead single which helped Pat Benatar find a more mainstream audience following the success of her live album from the previous year, indeed her brand of pop rock seemed to better connect with audiences as the decade went on even if it wasn’t on the level nostalgia stations would want you to believe.
The last time Billy Ocean had troubled our charts here in Australia was with his debut single “Love really hurts without you” back in 1976, fast forward eight years and he came back with the lead single to his first RNB album which helped him find an audience all around the world due to how he reinvented himself. The album was a massive success here mainly due to how big the singles were.
Rolling stones were on a err roll when they released this greatest hits package, although given what would come next, this feels more like an early admission that they were past their prime despite their next album being a huge success for them. Before that came, Mick Jagger would release a solo album the following year which was a moderate success for him due to how many musicians were embarking on a solo career at the time.
Given how his previous album was one of the biggest of the decade worldwide, it only makes sense that David Bowie would achieve some modicum of success with this follow up even if it only achieved a fraction of what his earlier effort achieved.
Well, here’s the soundtrack to Paul McCartney’s cinematic disaster I mentioned earlier on this list, I guess the fact it spawned his final hit in his career (at least for thirty years it was) did allow it to become a minor success here in Australia even if everything else about the film was panned by critics and audiences.
This was a massive hit for French pianist Richard Clayderman here in Australia, although it pales in comparison to what he achieved over in NZ where he was completely inescapable throughout the 80’s.
This was the first of many releases that Cold Chisel’s label would issue following the band’s initial breakup the previous year, it was a live album which captured the best moments of a show they gave two years prior which was a modest success for the band this year.
There were several delays to this album given how its lead single came out a full year prior to its release, this likely was the reason for why it underperformed back in the day as none of the other songs managed to catch on for the Pretenders once it finally saw the light of day. They would bounce back with their next album, or rather Chrissie Hynde would as the rest of the members would leave following this albums release.
While this doesn’t rank among their finest work, this was a huge success for Queen due to the album spawning two hit singles for them much like their comeback album from the start of the decade the Game. By this stage the behind-the-scenes drama had reached its peak which resulted in Freddie making a solo album the following year, although they were able to work things out as they released a new album two years later.
This is the only notable release from the Honeydrippers, a supergroup consisting of members of Led zeppelin and the Yardbirds that had a massive hit this year with its single “Sea of love.” I guess you can consider this a Led zeppelin release given how both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were key members of the group.
Given how John Lennon was never able to finish this album due to his untimely death from the start of the decade, it only makes sense that Yoko Ono would turn it into a duet’s album like their previous effort which makes this a carbon copy of Double fantasy. This was enough for it to be a modest success here in Australia, however it’s obvious that wasn’t what the album was originally meant to be.
There was a British equivalent of this album that was released during the summer period of 83/84 (as such it won’t be appearing on this list) so naturally we have a compilation album looking over the biggest hits of the biggest names in American music here in Australia up until this point in time.
One of the more popular films of the decade was Breakdance, a film that celebrates the breakdance phenomenon in a way that’s completely cheesy but endearing to audiences of the day. Nowadays it serves as little more than a time capsule for the midpoint of the decade, indeed that’s the best way to describe its soundtrack which was a modest success here in Australia.
This is the final album that the Jackson 5 had any sort of success with worldwide, mainly because it was their final album to have MJ as a part of the line-up which means that this is concrete proof that the family band owed all of their success to the king of pop throughout their time in the spotlight.
From what I can gather, this was a remix album which grouped together a bunch of popular tracks of the day and gave them the remix treatment for breakdancing which had taken the world by storm around this time. Think of it as the Wild FM of its day if there was only one volume (that I’m aware of.)
